Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Cast: Arun Vijay, FEFSI Vijayan, Vidya Pradeep, Sonia Aggarwal, Tanya Hope
‘Thadam’ marks the re-union of director Magizh Thirumeni and actor Arun Vijay after their pulsating hit Thadaiyara Thakka in 2012. Arun Vijay also plays a dual role for the first time in his career.
The film opens with sequences that establish the characters of Ezhil and Kavin (both played by Arun Vijay). Ezhil is a civil engineer and an IIT alumnus who runs his own construction company. He seems to be living a fulfilled life, both on the professional and personal front. While his business booms, he also enjoys a blissful and untroubled romantic relationship with Deepika (Tanya Hope). Kavin’s life on the other hand is the polar opposite. He makes a living out of small time con jobs with his sidekick Suruli (Yogi Babu), his romantic flings are short-lived and on top of this, he is also a compulsive gambler, something that puts him and Suruli in great peril on occasion. Kavin is no dud however and seems to surprisingly possess extra-ordinary intelligence and knowledge in the subject of law, a tool that he uses to rescue Suruli from a sure-shot conviction at one point. There is clearly more to Kavin’s past, waiting to be unraveled. This is where the film finally takes off and there is a gory murder incident where the only clue the police find is the image of a person resembling Kavin and Ezhil at the crime scene. It doesn’t take long to realize that they are in fact identical, biological twins, separated due to circumstances. Their questioning by the police opens up a large cupboard filled with skeletons from the past, but unfortunately for the cops, every clue they lay their hands on seems to hit a roadblock and stumbles.
Arun Vijay puts in a stellar, power-packed performance and the film literally rides on his shoulders. He is convincing in the varied shades of both Ezhil and Kavin and pulls off the nuances splendidly. The characters of Deepika and Ananthi (Kavin’s love interest played by Smruthi Venkat) could have been written much better though. While Deepika’s character and also its portrayal seems artificial in patches, Ananthi’s is not believable at all, especially the ease with which her whole family seems to be conned in a matter of significant importance. The director makes this up to an extent with the character of Malar, an ambitious police officer (played by Vidya Pradeep). Not only is this character written brilliantly, it is also played to terrific aplomb.
What could have added more depth to the film is more complexity and novelty in the plot. As it stands, what saves the story from being labelled as utterly simplistic and convenient (the very interesting idea at its core notwithstanding) is the psychological profile of the killer. The back story of Ezhil and Kavin is touching and heart wrenching. Kavin’s story especially, where Sonia Aggarwal plays his mother, leaves a big mark. In another film, the very killing that forms the crux of the story might have been labelled inexplicable and quite unnecessary. But here, you understand what drives the killer to this extreme step. The sudden fit of rage comes from a different sort of mental conditioning that you have to acknowledge to buy into the plot.
Ultimately ‘Thadam’ ticks some boxes and some not. It is an ambitious attempt and does not underwhelm, at the very least. The screenplay is quite enjoyable, in the second half and leading up to the climax. According to science, the probability of identical twins being conceived is only about 0.45%. The probability of a Tamil film being conceived based on this concept is much higher! Thadam does stand out in this distinctive crowd in some ways and is worth a watch.
Overall rating: 3/5
